I read a lot. Typically I will have about 3 books that I will read through at the same time, alternating. Two of which is informative and one Speculative Fiction. I have found this to be conductive to learning while also managing my ADD (not clinically diagnosed).
Oftentimes I recommend books, and I am fairly certain that not a single book has ever been looked at which I have recommended (maybe I recommend bad books). Sometimes I go so far as to give a book to someone which I am pretty sure is serving as a coffee coaster somewhere (at least its coffee).
To state it plainly I think its because TV is whipping my butt. In the race for my peers attention, TV and Facebook (lets not go there right now) have all but won.
I would like to point out, though, that the paper book is the first TiVo. Matter of fact I would go so far as to say that it's even better than TiVo. The information is recorded on paper instead of magnetic disks. A book doesn't need to be plugged into a wall, and it doesn't require sound or video.
Where the TV and TiVo wins, however, is its power of near-instant gratification. While there are short books, they still do not compare to TV on this level (maybe pop-ups). TV will always win this battle. Books can't make an image for you. Books can't produce a sound for you. You have to come up with those things yourself. Books can't atrophy your brain either. I'm going to go ahead and state that as fact.
Go to Amazon and order a book. Or better yet, go to a local book store and buy a book and say hello to people you walk by. I'm willing to bet it will be more gratifying than finishing a 30 minute episode of anything on a television.
